The Ondo State Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, on Tuesday, urged the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Olusegun Odusola, to decline a request to raise a panel for his (Aiyedatiwa’s) impeachment.
In a letter written on his behalf by his lawyer, Mr Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), the deputy governor urged the CJ to disregard the Monday letter sent by the Ondo House of Assembly directing the CJ to raise an impeachment panel.
The Assembly had in its letter urged the CJ to raise a panel to probe allegations of gross misconduct against Aiyedatiwa.
The legislators said a court order barring the CJ from raising the panel had elapsed.
But Aiyedatiwa’s lawyer, in the letter to the CJ, insisted that the court order stopping his client’s impeachment was still in force and urged the Ondo CJ to shun the fresh request by the Ondo Assembly.
Adegboruwa argued that the claim by the Assembly that the restraining order had elapsed was based on “conjectures, misconceptions, inconsistencies, undue desperation and misconstruction of the law.”
He argued that the orders granted by the Federal High Court, Abuja on September 26, 2023 remained valid and subsisting, “contrary to the erroneous conclusion of the Assembly that the said orders have expired by operation of law.”
“In this case, the court directed that the orders granted on September 26, 2023 should last till the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice for interlocutory injunction, which is still pending before the court.
“Contrary to this misconception of law and the facts, the same House of Assembly filed a Motion on Notice dated October 20, 2023, before the Court of Appeal, Abuja in respect of the same orders of the Federal High Court, praying for abridgement of time to hear its appeal against the said orders.
“If it is true that the orders expired by operation of law on October 18, 2023 as being falsely canvassed, why would the same House of Assembly file a fresh application two days later, in pursuit of its desire to set aside the said order that it claimed have expired? While the Assembly is pursuing its appeal to set aside the orders in court, it is deviously asking My Lord (Ondo CJ) to set aside the same orders in chambers, purportedly by operation of law,” Adegboruwa argued.
